U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy

Federal officials said Thursday they hoped a new "rescue pen" would help reduce the death toll from overdoses involving prescription painkillers. The Food and Drug Administration approved the sale, by prescription, of the prefilled auto-injector of the drug naloxone that caregivers or family members can use to reverse the effects of prescription painkillers, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, and heroin. Available until now only by syringe, naloxone has been a workhorse drug in emergency departments battling the relentless rise in painkiller overdoses over the last decade. Some communities also have experimented with making naloxone available as a nasal spray to first responders,...

Related "U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy" Articles

Federal officials said Thursday they hoped a new "rescue pen" would help reduce the death toll from overdoses involving prescription painkillers.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the sale, by prescription, of the prefilled...